Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, and the chief of air staff (CAS) Hassan Abubakar, had traveled to Turkey to facilitate the speedy delivery of T-129 ATAK helicopters to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
Spokesman of NAF, Edward Gabkwet, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
He said two of the helicopters are to be delivered to NAF in the coming weeks, while the remaining four helicopters are expected to be delivered before the end of the second quarter of 2024.
Gabkwet said the defence minister earlier held talks with Yasar Guler, his Turkish counterpart, on critical bilateral and defence cooperation issues as part of programmes lined up for the visit.
The statement added that Guler had promised Nigeria of every support required from the Turkish military and defence companies to strengthen and accelerate the defeat of terrorism and other criminal challenges.
He also said Badaru and Abubakar visited selected Turkish companies, including Turkish Aerospace Industries, MKE, Aselsan and Roketsan in the quest for collaboration.
“These companies are among highly-rated global defence companies renowned for the production of quality defence and military equipment,” he said.
“While at these companies, the minister of defence called for improved synergy between the companies and Nigeria through the transfer of defence technology to Nigeria.”
